Retail sales jump in January
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Retail sales received an unexpected bump in January, driven by higher than expected demand for furniture and household goods.
Sales were up 0.9% in January, compared to the previous month, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) against a 0.3% decline expected by most analysts.
The value of retail sales increased 4.4% year-on-year, while volume sales were up 2%.
The positive figures fuel optimism that the economy is turning a corner. Separate research from the IGD today claims that British consumers are starting to feel more positive about their financial situation and “believe that the worst is behind them”.
Meanwhile, the latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index reveal 16% year-on-year growth as shoppers spent £6bn online during January.
Figures were boosted by the travel sector which reported a 205% increase in sales as consumers booked summer holidays.
Readers' comments (1)
Abeed Janmohamed | Wed, 22 Feb 2012 8:54 am
With fears of another looming recession front of mind, this news will undoubtedly come as good news to the UK economy. The fact that UK consumers are currently willing to spend online should serve as a real opportunity to brands looking to evolve their current online offering. The good news is they now have the opportunity to hone their campaigns, so they are reaching both the optimum scale of consumers – there are two billion people online - but critically making the campaigns relevant to their audience. The key to achieving this is by understanding people’s social habits and connections across the web and targeting them accordingly. From this you can build a far more accurate picture of consumer behaviour and target truly relevant messages. By taking advantage of social targeting, brands can build on these healthy statistics published by the IMRG and genuinely contribute to economic recovery.
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